The Great Gargle

It's past time that I mention some herbal concoction which has worked for me and a few others so since I'm using it again with some success I'll share. I made a nicely effective red root extract that has come in handy for some tooth aches and a few sore throats. Matter of fact, that's what I'm using it for today and every time I give a good gargle with it this sore throat abates. Now the burning question in my mind is could it be the 90 proof alcohol that is the base for this extract? Could it be the few drops of clove oil that I added to the recipe? Well, whatever it might be, the throat is feeling ever so much better than it did last night or this morning! Let's not confuse red root with blood root-that would be most unfortunate! The red root that I'm writing about is Ceanothus americanus. The gargle tastes pretty nasty and I generally dilute it by half. I don't think all of the yucky taste comes from the root, but rather from the alcohol. I did try the root in infusion form but was not satisfied with it and suffered no ill or particularly good effects. I also read that too much of this herb can cause emesis, so caution was employed with my ingestion experiments. I have never ingested the extract except in residual amounts incidental to gargling or mouth washing. Allegedly this plant is good for the spleen, for making the blood coagulate, causing expectoration and relaxing the symptoms of asthma. I never noticed a benefit in regard to my own asthma symptoms when I was ingesting the infusion. I think it tends to dry up mucus issues when used as a gargle. My spleen seems to be fine so I won't give it any red root, but if the occasion ever surfaces in which my spleen thinks it needs some cleansing, I'll most likely give it a try.
Just to do a bit of variable elimination, the next time I get a sore throat I'll try to have some plain old Ever Clear on hand to eliminate or enhance the possibility that the alcohol alone is equally effective.